The historic partial shutdown has ended... for now, anyway. President Trump signed a bill on January 25th to end the shutdown for three weeks. Luckily, tax season wasn’t scheduled to start until January 29th.

For individual taxpayers and small businesses, everything is back on track, right?

Maybe not. Here’s why:

The impact could be ongoing. The Washington Post and the National Taxpayer Advocate have both reported that officials say it may be a full year for the IRS to get back on a regular routine.
Lengthy delays are expected. Forbes tax writer Kelly Phillips Erb has said that the IRS reports a backlog of roughly 5 million unanswered pieces of mail. The inevitable result of processing this number of parcels in addition to processing our tax returns? Delays.

The IRS itself, though, insists its operating as usual. Naomi Jagod from The Hill writes, “It also said that like in the past, it expects to issue more than 90 percent of refunds within 21 days of a taxpayer submitting his or her return.”

Who’s right? The answer is tough to say. In the meantime, the shutdown’s financial impact on local and national economies is becoming apparent. According to the Washington Business Journal, the cost to the greater D.C./Baltimore area is around $1.62 billion.

The Sooner You File, the Better

Our recommendation to you as an individual taxpayer or small business in the D.C./Baltimore area—ground zero of the shutdown’s affects— is to get a head start on your tax filings as soon as possible.

If you have questions or are ready to get started, contact us today at 443-605-3167.